Numerical modelling of surface roughness effect on the fatigue behavior of Ti-6Al-4V obtained by additive manufacturing

Abstract Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is a powder bed fusion process which allows to build-up parts by successive addition of layers using 3D-CAD models. Among the advantages, the high degree of freedom for part design and the small loss of material explain the increasing number of Ti-6Al-4V parts obtained by this process. However, right after additive manufacturing, these parts contain defects (surface roughness, porosity, residual stresses) which significantly decrease the High Cycle Fatigue (HCF) life. In order to minimize the porosity and residual stresses, post-processing treatments like Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) and Stress Relieving (SR) are often conducted. But the reduction of the surface roughness by machining is very costly and not always possible, especially for parts with complex geometry. The aim of this work is to evaluate the effect of the surface roughness of Ti-6Al-4V parts produced by SLM on the HCF behavior and to propose a methodology to estimate this effect. Three sets of specimens were tested in tension-compression: Hot-Rolled (reference); SLM HIP machined; SLM HIP as-built. For each condition, microstructure characterization, observation of the fracture surface of broken specimens, surface analysis and volume analysis were carried out respectively by Optical Microscope (OM), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), 3D optical profilometer and 3D X-ray tomograph. Results of fatigue testing show a significant decrease of the HCF life mainly due to the surface roughness. Along with experimental testing, numerical simulations using FEM were conducted using the surface scans obtained by profilometry and tomography. Based on extreme values statistics of a non-local fatigue indicator parameter (FIP), a methodology is proposed to take into account the effect of the surface roughness on the HCF life.